Conservation society announces book winners

The best books on Texas history

Updated 2:10 pm, Saturday, February 9, 2013

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Lonn Taylor and David B. Warren have updated and revised their definitive, Ima Hogg-inspired 1975 book on hand-crafted, historic Texas furniture in “Texas Furniture: The Cabinetmakers and Their Work, 1840-1880.”

The San Antonio Conservation Society’s Publication Awards recognize the authors of the best recently published books on Texas history, including "Last Farm Standing on Buttermilk Hill" by Gayle Brennan Spencer.

The San Antonio Conservation Society’s Publication Awards recognize the authors of the best recently published books on Texas history, including "Last Farm Standing on Buttermilk Hill" by Gayle Brennan

The San Antonio Conservation Society’s Publication Awards recognize the authors of the best recently published books on Texas history, including Steven Fenberg for "Unprecedented Power: Jesse Jones, Capitalism and the common bond."

The San Antonio Conservation Society’s Publication Awards recognize the authors of the best recently published books on Texas history, including Jesse O. Villarreal Sr. for "Tejano Patriots of the American Revolution 1776-1783."

The San Antonio Conservation Society’s Publication Awards recognize the authors of the best recently published books on Texas history, including Jesse O. Villarreal Sr. for "Tejano Patriots of the American

The Alamo, the women of El Paso, architect James Riely Gordon's courthouses, Texas furniture and Tejano patriots of the American Revolution.

If you're beginning to notice a pattern, you may have gleaned that it's time once again for the San Antonio Conservation Society's Publication Awards, which take place every other year and publicly recognize the authors of the best recently published books on Texas history.

The awards ceremony will be held March 22 at the Argyle.

Here are this year's winners:

Pop star Phil Collins has been an Alamo addict ever since he saw Fess Parker play Davy Crockett on TV as a kid in England. He showcases his collection of artifacts in “The Alamo and Beyond: A Collector's Journey” (State House Press).

Veteran writer Patrick Dearen, a recognized authority on the lower Pecos River country, examines the history and significance of one of the state's most beautiful and dangerous regions in “Devils River: Treacherous Twin to the Pecos, 1535-1900” (TCU Press).

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The history of El Paso through the eyes of a dozen prominent women is portrayed in “Grace & Gumption: The Women of El Paso,” edited by Marcia Hatfield Daudistel (TCU Press).

In this first significant study of San Antonio-based architect James Riely Gordon, Chris Meister surveys the work of one of the most talented designers of the late 19th century in “James Riely Gordon: His Courthouses and Other Public Architecture” (Texas Tech University Press).

Already being considered the definitive biography of the most influential Tejano leader of the 19th century, San Antonio historian David McDonald's “Jose Antonio Navarro: In Search of the American Dream in Nineteenth-Century Texas” (Texas State Historical Association) marries the political with the personal.

According to a review in the Express-News in November, Gayle Brennan Spencer's “Last Farm Standing on Buttermilk Hill: Voelcker Roots Run Deep in Hardberger Park” (LJB CommuniCo for the Max and Minnie Tomerlin Voelcker Fund) will “fascinate anyone who wants to understand the lives of local people who, over three generations, braved Comanches, rattlesnakes and sprawl to make gold from butter — long before anyone made money just from the sale of land.”

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www.saconservation.org

“Tejano Patriots of the American Revolution, 1776-1783,” Jesse O. Villareal's self-published story of Tejanos in Goliad and San Antonio de Bexar who aided Gen. Bernardo de Galvez by providing cattle to feed his troops fighting the the British along the Gulf Coast between 1779-1782, also won the 2012 Presidio La Bahia Award from the Sons of the Republic of Texas.

Lonn Taylor and David B. Warren have updated and revised their definitive, Ima Hogg-inspired 1975 book on handcrafted, historic Texas furniture in “Texas Furniture: The Cabinetmakers and Their Work, 1840-1880” (The University of Texas Press).

Established in 1851 upon the death of Edward Burleson, a commander at the Battle of San Jacinto and vice president of the Republic of Texas, the Texas State Cemetery in Austin is the resting place for great warriors, politicians, writers, athletes, astronauts and many more. Take an easy-chair tour with “Texas State Cemetery” (UT Press) by Jason Walker and Will Erwin.

Steven Fenberg tells the fascinating story of Jesse Jones, the Houston businessman who at FDR's behest went to Washington and, as chairman of the Reconstruction Finance Corp., saved farms, homes and banks in “Unprecedented Power: Jesse Jones, Capitalism, and the Common Good” (Texas A&M University Press).